Improvement in bustles



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS A. EARL, OF NORTH ATTLEBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR v TO HIMSELF AND CHARLES A. DURGIN.

IMPROVEMENT IN BUSTLES.

Specification forming` part of Letters Patent No. 25,786, dated October l1, 1859.

To all lwhom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, THoMAs A. EARL, of North Attleborough, Bristol county, Massachusetts, have invented a new and Improved Adjustable Bustle for the Expansion of Ladies7 Dresses; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, figures, and letters of reference thereon, making part of this specification.

In the said drawings, Figure 1 denotes a side elevation of my improved bustle detached from the skirt on a person. Fig.'2 is a side elevation of the same attached to and made part of a hoopskirt when not on a person. Fig. 3 is a back side View of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts in all the drawings.

In the manufacture of ladies skirtsA it has been found desirable, and is now by the trade deemed a prerequisite, that all skirts shall be provided with some device by which the bustle or expansion may be regulated. Heretofore all devices for this purpose have consisted of lacings or similar devices which were incon- Venient and illy contrived for this purpose, subjecting the wearer to inconveniece in adjusting, and disagreeable on the person.

The nature of my invention is to effectually remedy all these objections and provide a bustle of the simplest construction and capable of ready adjustment, as will be more fully hereinafter set forth.

To this end, and to enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A A represent hoops, secured together in circular form by metallic fastenings.

B B are the vertical supporting-strips, attached to the hoops by sewing or proper fastenings.

C C are segments of hoops, which reach about half-way around the person, and are secured in like manner to the supporting-strips as the hoops, the ends being made fast at b.

D is the belt, having a proper clasp, a, or fastening to secure it around the waist of the person.

E is a projecting piece, which is securely fastened to the belt at c, as seen in Fig. 3.

F is a metallic clasp fitted to the projecting piece E, so as to slide thereon, and is held in place by friction or otherwise.

G is a strip, which is secured to the ends of the segments C C, as shown in Figs. l and 3, and passes through the slide F at d.

Operation: The bustle being placed upon the wearer, the clasp F on the piece E (which ts the hollow of the back,and is consequently held at an angle) being up to the belt there is little or no expansion, and to adjust it to any degree is only necessary to reach back the hand and move the clasp F on the projecting piece E down, which,by means of the strip G, draws back the segments,and thereby expands the dress to the desired fashionable position. The adjustment is almost instantly accomplished and to any degree by moving the clasp up to or away from the belt D.

I do not conne myself to a bustle attached to a hooped skirt, as I intend to apply them to the various kinds of ladies skirts, or use them separately, as described; neither do I limit myself to any style of clasp or mechanism for operating it.

I claim The segments O, supported as described, in combination with the projecting strut E, slide F, and strip G, the whole being constructed and operated substantially as set forth and described.

THOMAS A. EARL. [L s] Witnesses:

G. A. DURGIN, D. G. BowLANDs. 

